It is the Italian philosopher Dante who is credited with saying: “A great flame follows a little spark.” Around 750 years after he made that observation, the Brazilian defender who shares his name helped to prove his point.
It was, after all, a serious knee ligament injury to the veteran centre-back that proved the downfall of Nice head coach Patrick Vieira, whose two-and-a-half-year affair with the Cote d’Azur club came to an abrupt end last week, seven months before his contract was due to expire.
As a player, Vieira attained legendary status with Arsenal and as a lynchpin of the France midfield, yet as a coach he has yet to fulfil the promise expected of him.
Certainly, when he arrived at Nice, having previously only had experience in Manchester City’s youth ranks and at New York City FC, it was considered to be a coup. He had improved the fortunes of the MLS side over his two years in charge, while his high status in the game boosted the profile of the Allianz Riviera outfit significantly.
With Nice having enjoyed successful years under Claude Puel and Lucien Favre, who had made them one of the most attractive Ligue 1 sides to watch, the foundation was there for Vieira to be a success.
Instead, he departed with his tail between his legs, his side a disappointing 11th in Ligue 1 and amid a five-match losing streak. Defeats included two Europa League losses against Sparta Prague and an embarrassing 3-1 reverse at home to a Dijon side previously winless in Ligue 1.
Admittedly, his ride at Nice has been one complicated by several changes of direction in the boardroom. The greatest of these was the takeover of Ineos last summer, which gave the club significantly more spending power but saw Vieira lose key backroom allies in the form of president Gauthier Ganaye and sporting director Gilles Grimandi, a former cohort at Arsenal.
Nevertheless, there can be few excuses for Nice’s poor showing this term. Key players were retained, the squad was in place early and the club was relatively unaffected by the financial difficulties that hurt some others.
Indeed, the summer transfer campaign was impressive by Ligue 1 standards as Morgan Schneiderlin arrived from Everton, Rony Lopes joined from Sevilla while Lyon duo Amine Gouiri and Jeff Reine-Adelaide were secured. On top of those, Hassane Kamara, one of the best full-backs in Ligue 1 last term, was plundered from Rennes.
On paper, this was a team fit to mount a top-three push. Vieira, however, has never been able to get the best from it.
Schooled in the City Football Group’s brand of possession-based football, his team produced an ugly caricature of their ideals. Just as in previous seasons, in which Nice were typically the masters of the ball but lacked any concrete idea how to make practical use of it, they have looked ponderous going forward much too often.
Curiously, this is a direct contrast to what he promised when he arrived at the club.
“To score, you have to take risks,” he told Nice Matin. “There needs to be verticality in passes, forward players to break lines and the ball has to go into the box to create interesting situations.”
None of these things have ever been evident in Vieira’s Nice teams, who have instead been characterised by a plodding, predictable brand of possession football. Defensive solidity, though, had allowed the south coast club to avoid significant punishment for their lack of offensive spontaneity.
Dante’s injury, however, blew a hole in this cover. In four of Vieira’s last five matches in charge, they conceded three goals. In the other, it was two. Without their keystone, the defence was found to disintegrate with pitiful ease. The coach was powerless to solve the puzzle.
“He goes with his philosophy no matter what,” former Arsenal colleague and now Monaco midfielder Cesc Fabregas said in praise of Vieira to 90min last month. “He always believes in his players and his methodology. It’s nice to see coaches like this.”
To some, this may be a strength, but this unyielding faith in his principles also proved his downfall. When faced with a need to change, he was either unable to do it or unwilling to see it. Perhaps even both.
His sacking, after all, was not the decision of a trigger-happy board.
“We’re not people who act after a defeat,” president Jean-Pierre Rivere said at the press conference following Vieira’s departure. “This is the result of thoughts we've been having for some time. When we think that the road we're on is not the right one, we should not hesitate to ask ourselves questions and take another.”
That is what has happened. Adrian Ursea, Vieira’s former assistant, will lead Nice to the end of the season, while his once promising coaching career is already in jeopardy.
Previously considered to be a natural Arsenal manager of the future, the route back for Vieira looks a long one indeed.